


Once Upon A Friendship

by Blueeyedlistener



Series: Original Stories [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Humans, Mermaids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:50:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueeyedlistener/pseuds/Blueeyedlistener
Summary: Children play where they're not allowed, and new people are met.





	1. The First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I have any plans to continue this past this chapter. Maybe if I come up with actual details or a storyline?  
> Or if there's enough interest, kind of?  
> Not really sure.

"Hailie, Watch out for the edge!" Reaching out for his younger sister's hand, Haydn's hand slipped past hers as she slipped down the side of the hill leading into the lake that connected to the ocean. Panicked, Haydn found a trail off to his right that led down to the shore; Taking caution as he tried not to fall himself, he hurried to check on his sister's well being. "Please be okay Hailie.." 

Seeing as his sister sat up coughing, he caught a glimpse of someone else who quickly dove into the water. "You're not too hurt, are you?" Shaking her head no, Hailie checked herself over as well as she appeared to not have any bad injuries; Just the occasional scrape or scratch from the sticks on the way down. Looking towards the lake, she rose to her feet as a smile grew on her face and she waved a goodbye that would be short lived. Turning to her brother as she took his hand in hers, her eyes showed her hope and excitement as she spoke. "Can we come back to the lake tomorrow?!" Taken aback, Haydn found himself curious as to what made her ask but he also knew how his mother felt about them playing at the lake on their own. "Maybe. Let's see how tomorrow goes, but first we need to get home before it gets too dark out." Accepting that as an answer, she returned home with her older brother just in time for their dinner, nightly baths and bedtime. 

"Come on! You said we'd go back today!" Crossing her arms, Hailie began to pout as her brother wasn't willing to go to the lake as soon as she would've liked. "No, I said _maybe_."   
"I wanna go!" Sighing, Haydn gave in as he made sure their mother knew they were going outside and received the classic 'Be Careful!' command as they walked through the door. Trying to keep up, Haydn found himself out of breath as they reached the shore of the lake; He never realized his sister could run so fast. Maybe he'd recommend the track team when she got to middle or high school. "Hailie, don't get too close to the water's edge."   
  
"Your sister will be fine. Allow her to have some fun here and there. Same to yourself, as well." Staring as a female appeared in the lake, Haydn became cautious; Who was she? What was she doing in the lake? Why was she talking to them? "I can tell by your expression, worry not. I don't intend to harm either of you." Hailie walked closer to the edge of the water and sat down with her legs crossed. "You're the one that helped me yesterday, right?"   
"I am, indeed." Earning a smile, Hailie's face lit up. "Ooh, I just knew it! Thank you so much!~ I like your tail!~" Her tail? Wait.  _Tail?!_ "I'm glad to hear of that, and you're very much welcome."   
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you and what are you exactly?" Haydn's hazel eyes watched the floating female cautiously as she seemed to show no signs of malice. Giving a twirl in the water, her lips curved into a smile and she gave a small snap; Her russet-a shade of brown with a reddish-orange tint- hair rested upon the water as some rested upon her shoulders and her jade green eyes making contact with his. "Simple. I'll tell you the answer to anything you want as long as you can give me the answer to this one question."   
"What's the question?" Hailie asked eagerly, her chesnut brown eyes lighting up. Diving under the water for a few seconds, she could hear as Haydn re-asked his sister's previous question, his voice giving away his growing anticipation. Resurfacing, she laughed for a moment before her expression grew into one of seriousness mixed with playfulness. "Can you keep anything that's shared between us three a secret?" The two nodded yes as they grew more curious; Hadyn had assumed the answers to his questions, but he couldn't wait to hear the official answers. " _Promise?~_ "   
"We promise." The two answered in unison. Smiling with a nod, the female replied. "Very well, then."   
  



	2. See the world behind a new door

"To answer your questions, little ones, my name is Azarah but you're welcome to come up with a different name to call me by if you'd like. As to answer what I am, to put it simply.. I'm a mermaid!~" "So mermaids really do exist?!" Questioned the two, earning a small laugh from the mermaid. "Indeed we do~ You're welcome to come with me and meet the others if desired." Hailie jumped up to her feet as she turned to look at her brother as she tried to refrain herself from jumping up and down; Haydn on the other hand wasn't sure how to take this offer. As cool as he thought it would be, what if something happened in this mysterious new world? How would he explain it to his mother when they returned-If they returned? "We should go! It'll be fun!" Pondering, Hadyn gave in to the curiosity and agreed.

Removing their shoes, the two walked into the water carefully as Azarah reached carefully for their hands to be sure not to make too sudden of movements; After all, she had no intention to hurt them and she wanted to be sure not to give them the wrong impression. "Hold your breath and close your eyes as you go under. Count to three, and then open your eyes, alright?" The two nodded and as they did so, they realized that upon the count of three that they were able to breathe and see clearly underwater. Azarah let go of their hands as they adapted to swimming along with Hailie attempting to copy Azarah's movements.

"Azarah! How _dare_ you!" Sudden gasps could be heard as some began to yell, and swim away to pretend as if they had no acknowledgement of what had been done. "You dare bring _humans_ here, into the only safe place our kind has left! Such a traitorous act, you should be ashamed of yourself." Rolling her eyes, Azarah crossed her arms as she stared into the others' eyes. "Relax. They're little children, what harm can they do? The most they could do is accidentally break a piece of coral." Balling her hand into a fist, the female gave the three angered glances as she swam off in a fury; "Is she gonna go tell on us?" Hearing the question from Hailie, Azarah turned to face her. "Oh Sweetie, don't you worry about that. Kara.. Kara's in a bad mood like that. She does everything by the book, with no fun." Hadyn could understand why Kara had been so furious about them arriving, Hailie on the other hand being shocked by the words "with no fun".

"Why is it such a big deal?" Turning to continue swimming, Azarah thought of a kid-friendly way to put it. "Well, it's just the way things work. As humans can dislike each other, mermaids can do the same, and some even share the dislike between species; Meaning simply-" "That Mermaids aren't liked by humans and vice versa." Hadyn finished. He had heard things in the past about the dislike of mermaids throughout talk between sailors and the other citizens in the town but most assumed the stories were just rumors due to no official mermaid sightings. "But, that's so mean! You can't just not like someone when you don't know them yet!" Glancing back for a moment, Azarah paused as she tried to think of the best way to explain. "Yes, it's not very nice but trust me when I say everyone has their own reasons behind it. Some mermaids, along with other groups of species, don't agree with how humans live on land, and some humans don't agree with how some of the others live. It's just the way it is, so we all work with it the best we can."

"So there are other mythical creatures as well?" "Yes, but each has their own world along with rules and customs." "Wow, this place looks so cool!~" Hailie interrupted as the attention turned to the place coming into view below them. Swimming through the town, Azarah stopped here and there as other mermaids and even of the merman stopped to greet the new visitors as the older or more 'by the book' ones shot them disgusted looks and turned their backs to them. Looking to the surface, Hadyn could get a glimpse that evening had started to set it and reminded Hailie that they needed to head back; Azarah nodded and swam with them back to the surface to ensure that they had made it back safely. "Can we come back tomorrow?!" Pondering for a second, Azarah shared a concerned glance to the two.

".." Sighing with a smile, she nodded. "Come back any time you two would like. I enjoy having new company. Be careful on the return home, little ones." The two siblings nodded, and waved goodbye with smiles on their faces as they began the trek home before night had fallen.


	3. A friendship shortly lived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azarah doesn't learn anything like she should.  
> Time passes on and new kids come around and gain the curiousness of Azarah once again.

The visiting continued for years afterwards;Hailie and Hadyn visited early in the morning on weekends and they'd finish their homework so they could have time to visit on school afternoons. Azarah would wait hidden for the two to appear and grew curious when the visiting began to diminish. A few days after the visiting slowed, Hailie and Hadyn ran down to the shore in a hurry only to be greeted by Azarah and some others who had grown accustomed to seeing the two humans so commonly; They hurriedly explained what was happening and urged for them to leave. Two of the fellow mermaids grabbed the arms of the children and pulled them into the water playfully as they took no importance of the given information until after it was finished. Realizing the mistake made, it became too late.

"Get away from them, you good-for-nothing death lurers!" Azarah lifted her arm as a shield of water rose over them to protect from the shots being fired, the others swimming off to warn the town of the possible danger as the children were soon yanked by their arms once again, only to the shore to be rushed off with their mother. "You have to hurry! Leave!" Hailie screamed as she attempted to break free of the grips, fear and sorrow being clearly seen in her eyes. Scuba divers were sent into the part of the lake connecting to the ocean as they were assigned to search for the assumed town of the "death lurers"; The father giving his two children the lecture of a lifetime followed by a grounding. 

Men threw nets out to the divers as they set up traps and some swam into the town to cause panic and trick as many as they could into the nets to be captured. Yelling could be heard between mermaids to the other mermaids and merman as they tried to fight against the nets but to no avail. Some were able to swim into small hiding places that went unnoticed as they watched in terror, their friends and family being taken away to their deaths. What felt like seconds scarred Hailie and Hadyn for years after; The two feeling like the whole thing had been their fault. Had they never went to the lake, maybe none of this would've ever happened. Ten minutes at most, and now the lake fell silent with no sign of life except for the occasional fish that swam by or screeches from the birds. 

Years upon years passed and the lake remained quiet. People rarely visited the lake, and the remaining mermaids and merman only surfaced as an absolute last resort. "You know we shouldn't be here alone!"   
"Oh, relax! You'll never have any fun with that attitude! Besides.. there's something mom wrote about in her journal that I wanna see for myself.." A girl placed herself at the edge of the shore right where the sand and water met, as her cousin took a seat next to her in disbelief. "There's nothing here, just water." Shaking her head, the girl watched off in the distance carefully to try to notice anything that seemed off. 

"Are you really sure about this, Azarah?"  Taking a few moments, she paused. "Truthfully, no. I'm terrified but that won't stop me. Something about these two.. I don't feel they're a danger. Besides, I need to know for myself." Swimming off as she ignored the words of the others, Azarah prepared herself as she had intentions of meeting these two new visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Azarah just needs to learn to stop.   
> This also isn't good but whoops.   
> I kinda just needed a chapter to try to bring it to where I originally wanted it to go? I don't really know.


End file.
